Valenzuela 1

Jocelyn Valenzuela
Mr. Hedgepeth
AP English Block 6
16 July 2015
Life has its journeys and throughout those journeys, seeds are planted. Throughout life,
those seeds begin to grow, and begin to mold a persons maturing personality. Herman Hesses
title character, Siddhartha, finds himself on a quest throughout his life for self-fulfillment, and
this is executed though Hesses usage of symbolism, archetypes, and character foils. In
Siddhartha, Siddhartha grows from a young, unhappy Brahmin to a venerable, enlightened man
of his own when he has ended his quest for awakening.
A large point in Siddhartha occurs after he leaves his home and later finds himself to
meet Gotama, a man who has found himself and brings the attention of many to him, for he is
called the Illustrious One. His smile is what Siddhartha notices most, for his smile is a symbol of
unity and complete content with the world, as Siddhartha speaks of him in, I have never seen a
man look and smile, sit and walk like that, he thought. I, also, would like to look and smile, sit
and walk like that, so free, so worthy, so restrained, so candid, so childlike and mysterious. A
man only looks and walks like that when he has conquered his Self. This is when Siddhartha
sets himself on his quest to become like Gotama, one with his Self.
Continuing his quest, Siddhartha finds himself at a river, he had once crossed it to leave
his town and he soon finds himself at it more than once. The archetypal river unifies all, once a
person has been to it, they always find their way back, despite the river flowing in one direction.
Once he crosses the river, it leads him to meeting new people and finding new places, until it
brings him back in old age. The river is where he had left a previous life for a new life, thus

Valenzuela 2
marking the start of his quest, then he truly finds himself at the river in old age after a spell of
self-disillusionment, thus marking the end of his quest.
Despite taking the quest on his own, Siddhartha had been long-time accompanied by his
foil and childhood friend Govinda. They both sought to find fulfillment during their lives, yet
Siddhartha went his own way, while Govinda remained a Samana. Siddhartha describes what he
had learned on his quest to enlightenment to Govinda, When someone is seeking, said
Siddhartha, it happens quite easily that he only sees the thing that he is seeking; that he is unable
to find anything, unable to absorb anything, because he is only thinking of the thing he is
seeking, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: to have a
goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. (Pg. 140). In this quote,
Siddhartha has reflected on his quest, and shows that it had no one direction, but he let it take
him anywhere, and that is how he learned to live life without any inhibitions to find himself one
with himself and one with the world, and the end of his quest making him old yet wise.